Breathable shoe

ABSTRACT

A breathable shoe, including: an upper assembly ( 10;310;410 ) having a breathable upper ( 11;311;411 ); a membrane ( 14;314;414 ) made of a material which is waterproof and breathable, and a sole ( 16;116;216;316;416 ) made of perforated elastomer, which are all mutually attached such that the membrane is arranged between the upper assembly and the sole, and the sole is sealed perimetrically to the membrane, in a manner to prevent moisture to enter into the upper assembly from the sole through the membrane, and to permit moisture to leave the inside of the upper assembly through the membrane and through the sole. In one preferred embodiment, the membrane is first attached to the upper assembly so that the upper assembly is a unitary upper assembly including the membrane, and such unitary upper assembly is subsequently attached to the sole.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority to Italian Application No.PD2000A 000091, filed Apr. 13, 2000, and WIPO Application No.PCT/EP01/04050, filed Apr. 9, 2001. The present application also claimspriority to the U.S. application Ser. No. 10/009,482, filed Dec. 13,2001. The contents of these applications are incorporated herein byreference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a breathable shoe.

2. Discussion of the Background

It is known that a shoe, in order to be comfortable, must ensure properexchange of heat and water vapor between the microclimate inside theshoe and the external one.

This exchange of heat and water vapor, however, must not compromise inany way the impermeableness of the shoe to external humidity or water.

Currently commercially available shoes entrust this exchange of heat andwater vapor substantially to the upper or to the sole.

As regards the upper, shoes which are perforated and/or provided withlinings made of a breathable and waterproof material are currentlycommercially available.

In some models, some parts of the upper can be replaced with materialswhich are indeed waterproof and breathable at the same time.

In rubber soles, many solutions have been proposed in order to solve theproblem of the lack of breathability which is inherent in thecharacteristics of the material.

One of these solutions, disclosed in Italian patent No. 1232798,consists in dividing the sole into two layers with through holes and ininterposing a breathable waterproof membrane which is joinedperimetrically and hermetically to the two layers.

Variations of this solution occur in subsequent patents, all of whichare in any case focused on dividing the sole into two layers in order tostop external water and dirt in a region which is as close as possibleto the surface that makes contact with the ground.

This entails manufacturing complications and in particular prevents theprovision of particularly thin soles.

In other cases, such as for example in European patent No. 275644, theentire sole is provided with through holes and is joined at the top withan upper having a bottom surface, which is entirely made of a waterproofbreathable material (film of polytetrafluoroethylene porous foam) withthe interposition of a protective layer made of porous material.

This structure is adapted for shoes whose upper is not provided with theclassic methods, such as the ones known as “Strobel”, “ideal welt” or“pre-assembled”.

European patent No. 103601 also discloses a sole in which delimitedregions are completely crossed through their thickness by holes and inwhich, in an upward region, a waterproof and breathable membrane is incontact with a substrate made of soft perforated material on which thefoot rests; this solution is substantially equivalent to the precedingone and makes it impossible to apply classic methods.

The sole is monolithic with the upper and the entire assembly is made ofplastic and is therefore not breathable.

The regions with holes are separate from the rest and are constituted byremovable disks.

Substantially the same situation is proposed by French patent No.1228239, which discloses a shoe with a sole and an upper made of thesame waterproof but non-breathable (plastic) material, provided withthrough holes (in both the sole and the upper) and, inside the upper, abootie made of waterproof and breathable material.

There is also an insole inside the bootie which is made of felt orsimilar material.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The aim of the present invention is to provide a shoe with a waterproofand breathable sole which can be manufactured with the above citedclassic methods (modified appropriately) and is simpler than the onesknown in the state of the art.

Within this aim, an object of the present invention is to provide abreathable shoe whose structure entails absolutely no constraints asregards styling and aesthetic research, allowing the greatest freedom toshoe shapes and types.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a breathable shoewhich is meant for both day-to-day use and for sports use.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a breathable shoewhose cost is competitive with respect to the costs of known shoes.

In accordance with the invention, there is provided a breathable shoeand a method for manufacturing a breathable shoe as defined in theappended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further characteristics and advantages of the present invention willbecome better apparent from the description of three embodimentsthereof, illustrated only by way of non-limitative example in theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a cross-section view of a shoe according to the invention inthe assembled condition, in a first embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a cross-section view of the shoe of FIG. 1 prior to finalassembly;

FIG. 3 is a cross-section view of the sole of a shoe according to theinvention in a second embodiment thereof;

FIG. 4 is a cross-section view of the sole of a shoe according to theinvention in a third embodiment thereof;

FIG. 5 is a cross-section view of a shoe according to the invention inthe assembled condition, in a fourth embodiment thereof;

FIG. 6 is a cross-section view of the shoe of FIG. 5 prior to finalassembly;

FIG. 7 is a cross-section view of a shoe according to the invention inthe assembled condition, in a fifth embodiment thereof;

FIG. 8 is a cross-section view of the shoe of FIG. 7 prior to finalassembly.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

With particular reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, a breathable shoe accordingto the invention comprises, in this case, an assembly 10 which wrapsaround the foot insertion region and is in turn composed of an upper 11which is breathable (for example made of natural leather without sealingpigments) and is associated with a breathable or perforated lining 12(made for example of Cambrelle).

The lining 12 is associated with the upper 11 by spot-gluing, so as tonot compromise breathability through said upper.

The assembly 10 furthermore comprises a breathable or perforated insole13 which is joined, by means of stitched seams 13 a, to the edges ofsaid upper 11 according to the manufacturing method commonly known as“Strobel” or “ideal welt”, so as to form a sack into which the assemblylast, not shown in the figures, is to be inserted.

The insole 13 can be made of a material which is breathable (for examplenatural leather) or perforated, with an optional heel seat lining madeof soft leather with absorbent rubber latex.

A membrane 14 made of a breathable and waterproof material, optionallycoupled (so as to withstand hydrolysis without compromisingbreathability) to a supporting mesh 15 made of synthetic material, isassociated with said insole 13 for example by spot gluing.

Preferably, the mesh 15 lies below the membrane 14.

The membrane 14 can be of the type that is commercially available andcommonly known by the trade-name Gore-Tex.

A sole 16, formed by a single block of elastomer with through holes 16 athrough its thickness, is joined to said upper for example by gluing(with hydrolysis-resistant adhesives) or high-frequency welding along aperimetric band and is sealed perimetrically with respect to saidmembrane 14.

As an alternative, direct injection of the sole 16 on the upper 11 canbe provided.

A protective element 17 made of a material which ishydrolysis-resistant, water-repellent, breathable or perforated isassociated below said membrane 14 by spot gluing, for example byadopting a commercially available adhesive which is resistant tohydrolysis (of the kind commonly known as “hot-melt” orcalendered-powder systems).

The protective element 17 can be conveniently made of a material whichis water-repellent and capable of drying rapidly, such as for examplenon-woven fabric or needled cloth.

As an alternative, it is possible to provide a Kevlar or filteringfabric. Conveniently, the edge 18 of the protective element 17 liesinside the edge 19 of the membrane 14 in order to allow to form a sealwith the sole 16.

As an alternative, the edge 19 of the membrane 14 can be folded aroundthe edge 18 of the protective element 17, or said protective elementcould be thinned at the edge (if it has the same perimeter as themembrane 14) so as to allow the penetration of the sealing adhesivebetween the membrane 14 and the sole 16.

The protective element 17 protects the membrane 14 from external impactsor foreign objects which might penetrate through the holes provided inthe sole 16.

A breathable or perforated inner sole 20 completes the shoe.

The shoe is manufactured by associating the membrane 14 and theprotective element 17 with the assembly 10, which is constituted by theupper 11 and the insole 13 (fitted on the last), and subsequentlyjoining the sole 16.

As an alternative, the membrane 14 can be joined to the sole 16 firstand then the composite element can be associated with the assembly 10.

The shoe according to the invention, as shown by the description of thisfirst embodiment, is entirely breathable, any non-breathable regionsbeing limited substantially to the perimetric regions of the sole, whichmust in any case ensure a good seal with respect to external moistureand water.

With particular reference to FIG. 3, in a second embodiment the shoediffers from the preceding case in that the protective element, nowdesignated by the reference numeral 117, is sandwiched between twocomponents 116 a and 116 b (which are mutually joined hermetically) intowhich the sole 116 is divided, each component having through holes 116 cand 116 d.

This is done if the thickness of the sole 116 is so great that it isdifficult to clean it of any mud or dirt which might penetrate.

Being blocked by the protective element 117, in this case, the dirt canbe released purely by virtue of the flexing of the sole, designated bythe reference numeral 116.

The part above the protective element 117 of the sole 116 can act as anair chamber which increases comfort by absorbing any unevenness of theground and increasing the ventilation of the membrane so as to rapidlydry its lower surface, when it is wet, in order to increase itsbreathability.

With particular reference to FIG. 4, a shoe according to the invention,in a third embodiment, differs from the preceding cases in that thesole, now designated by the reference numeral 216, has in its upper parta hollow region 220 which is delimited perimetrically by a border 221.

Dome-shaped protrusions 222 protrude from said hollow region 220, areuniformly distributed and advantageously reach the same height as saidborder 221.

Holes 223 or channels are provided in said border and connect the region220 to the outside.

Each one of said holes 223 is inclined with respect to the groundcontact plane, so that the outward part is lower than the inward part(this is done to avoid stagnation).

The holes 223 can furthermore be provided with one-way valves, not shownin the figures (which allow only air to flow outward).

With particular reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, a breathable shoe accordingto the invention, in a fourth embodiment, comprises in this case anassembly 310 composed of a tubular upper 311 which is breathable (forexample made of natural leather without sealing pigments) which isassociated with a breathable or perforated lining 312 (made for exampleof Cambrelle).

The lining 312 is associated with the upper 311 by spot gluing, so as tonot compromise breathability through said upper.

A membrane 314 made of breathable and waterproof material, optionallycoupled (so as to withstand hydrolysis without compromisingbreathability) to a supporting mesh 315 made of synthetic material, isassociated with the lower part of the upper 311, for example by spotgluing.

A sole 316 made of a single block of elastomer with through holes 316 athrough its thickness is joined to said upper 311, for example by gluing(with hydrolysis-resistant adhesives) or high-frequency welding along aperimetric band and is sealed perimetrically to said membrane 314.

As an alternative, it is possible to provide for the direct injection ofthe sole 316 over the upper 311.

A protective element 317 made of a material which is resistant tohydrolysis, water-repellent, breathable or perforated is associatedbelow said membrane 314 by spot gluing, for example by adopting acommercially available adhesive which is resistant to hydrolysis (of thetype commonly known as “hot-melt” or calendered-powder systems).

Conveniently, the edge 318 of the protective element 317 is internal tothe edge 319 of the membrane 314 in order to allow to form a seal withthe sole 316.

As an alternative, the edge 319 of the membrane 314 can be folded aroundthe edge 318 of the protective element 317 or said protective elementcould be thinned at its edge (if it has the same perimeter as themembrane 314) until it allows the sealing adhesive to penetrate betweenthe membrane 314 and the sole 316.

The protective element 317 protects the membrane 314 against externalimpacts or foreign objects which might penetrate through the holesprovided in the sole 316.

As an alternative, the protective element 317 can be arranged as in thesecond embodiment.

In another alternative, the sole 316 can be provided as in the thirdembodiment.

The shoe is manufactured by associating the membrane 314 and theprotective element 317 with the assembly 310, which is fitted on thelast, and subsequently joining the sole 316.

As an alternative, the membrane 314 can be joined to the sole 316 firstand then the composite element can be associated with the assembly 310.

With particular reference to FIGS. 7 and 8, a breathable shoe accordingto the invention in a fifth embodiment comprises, in this case, anassembly 410 which wraps around the foot insertion region and is in turncomposed of an upper 411 which is breathable (for example made ofnatural leather without sealing pigments) and is associated with abreathable or perforated lining 412 (made for example of Cambrelle).

The lining 412 is associated with the upper 411 by spot gluing, so asnot to compromise breathability through said upper.

The assembly 410 furthermore comprises an assembly insole 413 which isbreathable or perforated and below which the edges of said upper 411 arefolded and glued (a manufacturing method known as “pre-assembled” or“AGO”), so as to form a sack in which the assembly last, not shown inthe figures, is to be inserted.

The insole 413 can be made of breathable material (for example naturalleather) or perforated material, with an optional heel seat lining madeof soft leather with absorbent rubber latex.

The assembly 410 also comprises a breathable or perforated filler layer413 a (made for example of felt) which is surrounded by the folded edgesof the upper 411.

A membrane 414 made of waterproof and breathable material, optionallycoupled (so as to withstand hydrolysis without compromisingbreathability) to a supporting mesh 415 made of synthetic material, isassociated with said filler layer 413 a for example by spot gluing.

The mesh 415 is preferably in an upward region with respect to themembrane 414.

The membrane 414 can be of the commercially available type commonlyknown by the trade-name Gore-Tex.

A sole 416 formed by a single block of elastomer with through holes 416a through its thickness is joined to said upper for example by gluing(with hydrolysis-resistant adhesives) or high-frequency welding along aperimetric band and is sealed perimetrically with respect to saidmembrane 414.

As an alternative, it is possible to provide for the direct injection ofthe sole 416 on the upper 411.

A protective element 417 made of hydrolysis-resistant, water-repellent,breathable or perforated material is associated below said membrane 414by spot gluing, for example by adopting a commercially availableadhesive which is resistant to hydrolysis (the type commonly known as“hot-melt” or calendered-powder systems).

The protective element 417 can be conveniently made of a water-repellentmaterial which is capable of drying rapidly, such as for examplenon-woven fabric or needled cloth.

As an alternative, it is possible to provide a fabric made of Kevlar orfiltering fabric.

Conveniently, the edge 418 of the protective element 417 lies inside theedge 419 of the membrane 414 in order to allow to form a seal with thesole 416.

As an alternative, the edge 419 of the membrane 414 can be folded aroundthe edge 418 of the protective element 417 or said protective elementcould be thinned at its edge (if it has the same perimeter as themembrane 414) until it allows the sealing adhesive to penetrate betweenthe membrane 414 and the sole 416.

The protective element 417 protects the membrane 414 against externalimpacts or foreign objects which might penetrate through the holesprovided in the sole 416.

As an alternative, the protective element 417 can be arranged as in thesecond embodiment.

In a further alternative, the sole can be provided as in the thirdembodiment.

The shoe is manufactured by associating the membrane 414 and theprotective element 417 with the assembly 410, constituted by the upper411, the assembly insole 413 and a filler layer 413 a (mounted on thelast), and subsequently joining the sole 416.

As an alternative (FIG. 8), the membrane 414 can be joined to the sole416 first and then the composite element can be associated with theassembly 410.

In practice it has been observed that the present invention has achievedits intended aim and objects.

A shoe with a waterproof and breathable sole has in fact been providedby using the “Strobel”, “ideal welt”, “pre-assembled” and other classicmethods (modified appropriately) in a simpler manner than shoes known inthe state of the art.

It should also be observed that the shoe according to the inventionperfectly fulfills the need to have optimum exchange of heat and watervapor between the internal microclimate and the external one, whilemaintaining a complete impermeableness to water and moisture.

It is observed that all this has been achieved while maintaining a shoestructure which is highly flexible and adaptable to any type of stylingand to any aesthetic and economical level required by the market.

It is also observed that the structure of the shoe according to theinvention can be easily mass-produced, since the operations can be fullyautomated.

It is further observed that the structure of the shoe according to theinvention allows a certain flexibility as regards the association of itscomponents, thus leading to considerable production savings in relationto its flexibility and adaptability to the various manufacturingsituations and conditions.

The present invention is susceptible of numerous modifications andvariations, all of which are within the scope of the inventive concept;all the details may furthermore be replaced with other technicallyequivalent elements.

The material, as well as the dimensions, may be any according torequirements.

1. A breathable shoe comprising: an assembly which wraps around a foot insertion region and comprises a breathable upper; at least one membrane made of a material which is waterproof and breathable and is associated with said assembly in a downward region; a sole made of perforated elastomer, joined to said upper and sealed perimetrically to said membrane; and a protective element made of a material which is resistant to hydrolysis, water-repellent, breathable or perforated, arranged below said membrane in a region between an upper part of said sole and its internal part which is adjacent to a ground contact surface.
 2. The shoe according to claim 1, wherein said assembly includes a breathable tubular upper.
 3. The shoe according to claim 1, wherein said assembly includes: a breathable upper; a breathable or perforated assembly insole, under which edges of said breathable upper are folded and glued so as to form a sack; and a breathable or perforated filler layer which is surrounded by the folded edges of said breathable upper.
 4. The shoe according to claim 1, wherein said sole has, in its upper part, a hollow region which is delimited perimetrically by a border, protrusions protruding from said hollow region, and holes or channels being formed in said border and connecting said hollow region to the outside.
 5. The shoe according to claim 4, wherein each one of said holes is inclined with respect to the ground contact surface so that an outward part is lower than an inward part.
 6. The shoe according to claim 5, wherein said holes have one-way valves which only allow air to flow outward.
 7. The shoe according to claim 1, wherein said protective element is sandwiched between two components which are mutually joined hermetically and into which said sole is divided, each component having through holes.
 8. A method for manufacturing a breathable shoe, comprising: providing an upper assembly including a breathable tubular upper having a bottom portion extending continuously between two opposite side portions; providing a membrane made of a material which is waterproof and breathable; providing a sole made of perforated elastomer; and mutually attaching said upper assembly, said membrane, and said sole such that said membrane is arranged between said upper assembly and said sole and said sole is sealed perimetrically to said membrane, in a manner to prevent moisture from entering into said upper assembly from said sole through said membrane, and to permit moisture to leave an inside of said upper assembly through said membrane and through said sole, wherein said mutually attaching includes initially attaching said membrane to said upper assembly by spot gluing so that said upper assembly is a unitary upper assembly including said membrane, and subsequently attaching said unitary upper assembly to said sole.
 9. A method for manufacturing a breathable shoe, comprising: providing an upper assembly having a breathable upper, a breathable assembly insole and a breathable filler layer; attaching folded edges of said breathable upper below said breathable assembly insole; attaching said breathable filler layer below said breathable assembly insole; providing a membrane made of a material which is waterproof and breathable; providing a sole made of perforated elastomer; and mutually attaching said upper assembly, said membrane, and said sole such that said membrane is arranged between said upper assembly and said sole and said sole is sealed perimetrically to said membrane, in a manner to prevent moisture from entering into said upper assembly from said sole through said membrane, and to permit moisture to leave an inside of said upper assembly through said membrane and through said sole, wherein said mutually attaching includes initially attaching said membrane to said breathable filler layer of said upper assembly by spot gluing so that said upper assembly is a unitary upper assembly including said membrane, and subsequently attaching said unitary upper assembly to said sole. 